ZMIME
Comparison · 3 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

North Mini Code vs Qwen3.8 Flash Next vs Laguna M.1

Too close to call on our weighted score (North Mini Code 71, Qwen3.8 Flash Next 70, Laguna M.1 68). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. Cohere

    North Mini Code

    Released Jun 9, 2026

    71/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context256K
  2. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.8 Flash Next

    Released Aug 27, 2026

    70/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.20 / $0.50
    • Context262K
  3. Poolside

    Laguna M.1

    Released Apr 28, 2026

    68/100
    • ECI—
    • PriceFree / Free
    • Context262K
01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 1 points (North Mini Code 71/100, Qwen3.8 Flash Next 70/100, Laguna M.1 68/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: North Mini Code on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceNorth Mini Code and Laguna M.1North Mini Code Free · Laguna M.1 Free · Qwen3.8 Flash Next $0.275 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3.8 Flash Next and Laguna M.1Qwen3.8 Flash Next 262,144 · Laguna M.1 262,144 · North Mini Code 256,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3.8 Flash NextNorth Mini Code: Text · Qwen3.8 Flash Next: Text, Images, Video · Laguna M.1: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightNorth Mini CodeQwen3.8 Flash NextLaguna M.1
Price50%10076100
Inputs & features30%458035
Context window20%363737
Overall100%71/10070/10068/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

North Mini Code vs Qwen3.8 Flash Next vs Laguna M.1 specifications side by side
SpecificationNorth Mini CodeCohereQwen3.8 Flash NextAlibaba (Qwen)Laguna M.1Poolside
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)———
ECI rank———
Price per million tokens
InputFree (best)$0.20Free (best)
OutputFree (best)$0.50Free (best)
Cached input———
Blended (3:1)Free (best)$0.275Free (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Cohere APIMedian of 5 providersOfficial Poolside API
Limits
Context window256,000 tokens262,144 tokens (best)262,144 tokens (best)
Max output64,000 tokens131,072 tokens (best)32,768 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYesYes
ImagesNoYesNo
PDFsNoNoNo
AudioNoNoNo
VideoNoYesNo
ReasoningYeshighYesYes
Tool callingYesYesYes
Structured outputYesYesNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpenqwen-community-1.0Open
API model IDnorth-mini-code-1-0—poolside/laguna-m.1
API providers25 (best)2
ReleasedJun 9, 2026Aug 27, 2026Apr 28, 2026
Knowledge cutoffSep 23, 2025——
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • North Mini CodeFree
  • Qwen3.8 Flash Next$3.00
  • Laguna M.1Free
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: North Mini Code, Qwen3.8 Flash Next or Laguna M.1?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 1 points (North Mini Code 71/100, Qwen3.8 Flash Next 70/100, Laguna M.1 68/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: North Mini Code on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, North Mini Code, Qwen3.8 Flash Next or Laguna M.1?

North Mini Code is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Cohere API price). Laguna M.1 costs Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Poolside API price); Qwen3.8 Flash Next costs $0.20 input / $0.50 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). North Mini Code is listed as free.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. North Mini Code has not been scored yet, Qwen3.8 Flash Next has not been scored yet and Laguna M.1 has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for North Mini Code, Qwen3.8 Flash Next and Laguna M.1 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Qwen3.8 Flash Next and Laguna M.1 have the largest context windows (262,144 and 262,144 tokens), against 256,000 for North Mini Code. Maximum output per response: North Mini Code up to 64,000, Qwen3.8 Flash Next up to 131,072, Laguna M.1 up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

North Mini Code accepts text; Qwen3.8 Flash Next accepts text, images and video; Laguna M.1 accepts text. Qwen3.8 Flash Next handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, all three publish their weights (qwen-community-1.0), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Qwen3.8 Flash Next is the newest, released Aug 27, 2026. North Mini Code came out Jun 9, 2026; Laguna M.1 came out Apr 28, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: North Mini Code Sep 23, 2025.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.